Time Warner Cable has decided to place North Carolina on the frontlines of their war on consumer broadband. Greensboro, NC was selected by Time Warner for it’s trials of data caps and pricing based upon usage in addition to existing tiers defined by connection speeds.

Now Time Warner seeks to legistlate away municipal broadband networks deployed by city governments like the Greenlight fiber network in Wilson, NC. Wilson borrowed $28 million to build out it’s own fiber to the home network which also serves as backhaul for free Wi-Fi in the downtown area. Wilson residents enjoy the fastest network connection in North Carolina with a 20 Mbps symmetrical service for $59.95. At the same price point, TWC’s RoadRunner Internet service delivers a variable downlink up to 10 Mbps and uplink up to 512 kbps.

The bill ironically titled Level Playing Field (SB1004/HB1252) seeks to punish municipal networks by requiring regulations, redirecting city tax revenues, auditing and reporting requirements driving up the costs of operating and offerng a communications service. Time Warner wants to restrict competition and ensure the continuation of a scarcity of bandwidth, rather than face an abundance of service options for consumers.

TWC lobbied for the same legislation in North Carolina 2 years ago in 2007, but the effort died in committee. This time it has passed the first of three House committees it must navigate. Last week it emerged from the Science and Technology Committee and passed on the Public Utilities where it must pass to move on to Finance. The next step in the process would be a vote in the House. Some have suggested that the House version could be up for a vote before May 1st.

With the Mayor of Greensboro considering options following TWC’s determined effort to charge usage cap pricing tiers, the company wants to ensure that other cities can’t deploy their own networks. One provision of the bill prevents a municipality from offering service to it’s citizens at a loss. This means that should a city decide to provide free Wi-Fi to it’s residents it would incur the same costs and regulatory burdens of a for fee service. In essence, TWC wants to ensure the duopoly it shares with the local phone company and thwart any additional competition or options for consumers. Their plans to reassert data caps is clear in the following video. Note, TWC is taking it’s cue from wireless carriers (e.g., Verizon Wireless, ATT Wireless) on overcharging and customer abuse.

News 14 Carolina – Time Warner Shelves Usage Based Billingby dampier

North Carolina representatives would do well to read the commissioned report called, “Capturing the Promise of Broadband for North Carolina and America.” According to this report, 16% of the population has zero access to broadband using the previous definition from the FCC of 200 kbps download. The FCC increased this number to 768 kbps in the summer of 2008, and the report itself recommends a minimum speed of 100 Mbps by 2012 and 1 GBps by 2015 as the acceptable speeds needed by consumers of broadband.

Commissioned by e-NC.org, the report specifically recommends active participation by the State and e-NC Authority in the development of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. The e-NC was established by the State Assembly in 2000 and 2006 was extended through December 2011.

From the organization’s website, the e-NC Authority is responsible for the following:

To track the availability of high-speed Internet services in each county across the state

To advocate for high-speed Internet access at competitive prices to all North Carolinians

To significantly increase the numbers of individuals, businesses and organizations who own computers and computer devices and who subscribe to the Internet

To establish telecenters located in the state’s most economically distressed areas

To establish a Web site to provide North Carolinians with complete information on Internet and telecommunications services

TWC’s actions in North Carolina are rapidly evolving and the State has already given the “Level Playing Field” legislation more momentum than it had in 2007. Any developments will be reported in addition to providing audio interviews with some of those directly involved.

A plan is underway in the halls of the FCC that will impact your ability to participate in our democracy, to be educated and to earn a living. The FCC received direction from Congress through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the Stimulus Bill, to create a national strategy for broadband and to ensure access and adoption of broadband across the United States.

The FCC released on April 8, 2009 a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) for public comment on The National Broadband Plan (NBP). This NOI sets the issues to be considered and areas where the FCC is seeking input from industry, state and local governments, international resources, technology experts, policy experts and the public.

The Commission needs the help of a wide and deep set of views to answer questions ranging from,

“whether a definition of “broadband” should be tethered to a numerical definition or, instead, an “experiential” metric based on the consumer’s ability to access sufficiently robust data for certain identifiable broadband services…”

to “We seek comment on the value of open networks as an effective and efficient mechanism for ensuring broadband access for all Americans, and specifically on how the term “open” should be defined…”

to “We seek comment on whether subsidizing the recurring subscription cost for broadband service, or subsidizing the fixed costs of obtaining computer equipment could address the affordability of broadband for all Americans…”.

Other areas of comment include Public Saftey and Homeland Security, Delivery of Health Care, Worker Training, Entreprenuerial Activity, Venture Capital, and Improving Government Accountability.

The scope of NBP touches every aspect of public and private endeavor, and therefore, every American.

Those coming under FCC regulations including Internet service providers, radio, television, cable companies and wireless service providers are guaranteed to engage on the areas of defining broadband, service requirements, pricing, deep packet inspection, nondiscrimination, competition and consumer welfare. Regulations on broadband directly impact their businesses and profits. In addition, these entities have an advantage in that they know the FCC, it’s processes and it members.

It is, therefore, critical that the public adds it’s comments on the digital divide, affordability, open networks, and even non-discrimination of network traffic as doing so ensures consideration by the commission of the public interest and needs for communication, media consumption and creation and even the ability to participate in government.

What’s at Stake?

Broadband is currently defined as 768 kbps as either download or upload which will prove insufficient when measured against the demands as more media moves from print to online, gaming and simulations become more sophisticated and software and services move into the cloud.

The US has failed to keep pace with the rest of the world on broadband deployment, speed and price. Eight years ago the US was ranked 4th as compared to other nations. Today the US ranks 15th, 17th or even 22nd depending on the source.

The chart below shows where the US stood in comparison to other countries as of May 2008. Relying upon deregulation and the private sector alone hasn’t served Americans well as compared with Japan and Korea where deployments are primarily fiber.

Recent attempts by service providers like Time Warner Cable and ATT to limit usage through the implementation of data caps, and the industry wide practice of wireless providers to cap data usage on so-called unlimited plans provides the evidence for how consumer needs can be at cross purposes to the profit goals of broadband providers. As noted in TWC SEC filing, their goal was to move their customers up the usage pricing tiers quickly, but what effect does such strategy have on unemployed Americans who want and need to create an online presence for their job search? What effect does TWC stratgey have on lower middle class and the poor? What effect does this sort of strategy have on our government’s push to engage the public via video on issues and accountability?

Our economic future is inextricably tied to our access to broadband Internet connections. The US economy no longer relies upon a manufacturing base, and more Americans are relying upon the Internet for their income. Whether you work for a technology company that provides services via the network like Microsoft, Apple and Google, or you are a a new media star on YouTube, the ability to interact with your customers online and grow that customer base online makes broad availability of broadband critical to your survival.

The vast increase of video consumption and creation for communication, education and even health delivery punctuates the demand for broadband. Congressional requirement that the FCC create a national strategy recognizes this fundamental shift in our economic future. Some estimates have stated video accounts for 70% of all Internet traffic.

Video information resources available via the Internet include resources and points of view not represented in other forms of media. As printed new outlets are shrinking, online news outlets are exploding. Our ability to be informed citizens is becoming more and more reliant upon access to a diverse and variety of news sources that populate the Internet. A great example is provided by current FCC Interim Chairman, Michael Copps during an interview with Bill Moyers from a 2007 discussion on media consolidation and Net Neutrality.

“There was a consolidation hearing in a town with alot of media consolidation, I think it was in Arizona, and nothing had been reported about our coming. We had 500 people show up. So I went down there. I went down there and asked, how did you find out about this meeting? And one of them replied, I heard about it on the B-B-C.”

Viewing the full video is highly recommended as many of the concerns Copps expresses on media consolidation and Net Neutrality are inherent in a national broadband strategy that should serve the public interest. Your comments can help the FCC understand the issues and needs from school teachers, students, technology experts, health care workers, online marketing consultants, YouTube stars, bloggers, IT workers, job seekers, charities, and everyone in between, even twitterers.

I encourage everyone to email FCC Interim Chairman Michael Copps at michael.copps@fcc.gov and request public hearings around the country before the June 8, 2009 dealine for comments. This will help ensure participation from those who are currently on the underserved side of the digital divide, and from those who have valuable contributions to make to the issues of a broadband strategy technology needs.

A copy of the hundreds of questions the FCC faces and on which they have requested input is avialable in The National Broadband Plan NOI. Comments can be submitted via e-mail by following the instructions on the FCC web site under Electronic Comment Filing System. Scrolling down the page you’ll find examples of the form required to submit your comment. An important note is that comments must be submitted in plain text, so do not send HTML formatted email as the system may reject your entry. A call to the FCC Help Desk to clarify this issue at (202) 418-0193 was not returned at the time of publication of this article. When clarification is received, and update will be included.

What you Can do Now

Read the NOI

Submit Comments to the FCC

Call your Senator and support confimration for Julius Genakowski as FCC Chairman

Join the FriendFeed group and join the conversation here in comments below.

Return here to mobilejones.com – I’ll post audio interviews from a number of stakeholders and those involved more directly in policy making on this issue.

Time Warner Cable has decided to place North Carolina on the frontlines of their war on consumer broadband. Greensboro, NC was selected by Time Warner for it’s trials of data caps and pricing based upon usage in addition to existing tiers defined by connection speeds.

Now Time Warner seeks to legistlate away municipal broadband networks deployed by city governments like the Greenlight fiber network in Wilson, NC. Wilson borrowed $28 million to build out it’s own fiber to the home network which also serves as backhaul for free Wi-Fi in the downtown area. Wilson residents enjoy the fastest network connection in North Carolina with a 20 Mbps symmetrical service for $59.95. At the same price point, TWC’s RoadRunner Internet service delivers a variable downlink up to 10 Mbps and uplink up to 512 kbps.

The bill ironically titled Level Playing Field (SB1004/HB1252) seeks to punish municipal networks by requiring regulations, redirecting city tax revenues, auditing and reporting requirements driving up the costs of operating and offerng a communications service. Time Warner wants to restrict competition and ensure the continuation of a scarcity of bandwidth, rather than face an abundance of service options for consumers.

TWC lobbied for the same legislation in North Carolina 2 years ago in 2007, but the effort died in committee. This time it has passed the first of three House committees it must navigate. Last week it emerged from the Science and Technology Committee and passed on the Public Utilities where it must pass to move on to Finance. The next step in the process would be a vote in the House. Some have suggested that the House version could be up for a vote before May 1st.

With the Mayor of Greensboro considering options following TWC’s determined effort to charge usage cap pricing tiers, the company wants to ensure that other cities can’t deploy their own networks. One provision of the bill prevents a municipality from offering service to it’s citizens at a loss. This means that should a city decide to provide free Wi-Fi to it’s residents it would incur the same costs and regulatory burdens of a for fee service. In essence, TWC wants to ensure the duopoly it shares with the local phone company and thwart any additional competition or options for consumers. Their plans to reassert data caps is clear in the following video. Note, TWC is taking it’s cue from wireless carriers (e.g., Verizon Wireless, ATT Wireless) on overcharging and customer abuse.

News 14 Carolina – Time Warner Shelves Usage Based Billingby dampier

North Carolina representatives would do well to read the commissioned report called, “Capturing the Promise of Broadband for North Carolina and America.” According to this report, 16% of the population has zero access to broadband using the previous definition from the FCC of 200 kbps download. The FCC increased this number to 768 kbps in the summer of 2008, and the report itself recommends a minimum speed of 100 Mbps by 2012 and 1 GBps by 2015 as the acceptable speeds needed by consumers of broadband.

Commissioned by e-NC.org, the report specifically recommends active participation by the State and e-NC Authority in the development of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. The e-NC was established by the State Assembly in 2000 and 2006 was extended through December 2011.

From the organization’s website, the e-NC Authority is responsible for the following:

To track the availability of high-speed Internet services in each county across the state

To advocate for high-speed Internet access at competitive prices to all North Carolinians

To significantly increase the numbers of individuals, businesses and organizations who own computers and computer devices and who subscribe to the Internet

To establish telecenters located in the state’s most economically distressed areas

To establish a Web site to provide North Carolinians with complete information on Internet and telecommunications services

TWC’s actions in North Carolina are rapidly evolving and the State has already given the “Level Playing Field” legislation more momentum than it had in 2007. Any developments will be reported in addition to providing audio interviews with some of those directly involved.

Mobile World Congress 2009 opens today and mobilejones.com offers comprehensive coverage. MWC09 is a European focused event and draws an attendance that is equal to the size of the annual CTIA conference in Las Vegas. Both conferences are produced by mobile operator consortium. MWC is produced by the GSMA and CTIA is the conference name and the organization which represents US mobile operators.

Watch http://mwc09.mobilejones.com for the latest articles, photos, videos and news. If you’re attending the conference and would like to see your experience and views featured on the site, send an email or leave a voice mail. Email address and phone number are available on the About page.

The conference runs through February 19th and as the sources for reporting, opinion and insight grows, so with the resources made available on the MWC09 section of mobilejones.com. Comment below with ideas, suggestions or praise. Those are welcome.

Related articles

I’ve been thinking about and planning changes to mobilejones.com for quite a few months now. You will see a number of changes in layout, design and features as the project continues.

Hopefully, these improvements will make mobilejones.com a better resource and enable some features that readers will love. Please be patient as these upgrades will be accomplished over time.

Looking forward in 2009 mobilejones.com will continue to grow with the same exciting pace as the industry, itself. Creativity and change is coming to the mobile industry at a frenetic pace. Time to get back to reporting on those developments and connecting with loyal past and new readers.

I’ve been thinking about and planning changes to mobilejones.com for quite a few months now. You will see a number of changes in layout, design and features as the project continues.

Hopefully, these improvements will make mobilejones.com a better resource and enable some features that readers will love. Please be patient as these upgrades will be accomplished over time.

Looking forward in 2009 mobilejones.com will continue to grow with the same exciting pace as the industry, itself. Creativity and change is coming to the mobile industry at a frenetic pace. Time to get back to reporting on those developments and connecting with loyal past and new readers.

It’s Carnival time, and James Cooper of the mjelly blog has rounded up a great list of articles for the CoM this week. James has added some vivid carnival images to his section breaks and delivered a great synopsis of the best in writing on mobility from around the blogosphere. Enjoy!

It’s Carnival time, and James Cooper of the mjelly blog has rounded up a great list of articles for the CoM this week. James has added some vivid carnival images to his section breaks and delivered a great synopsis of the best in writing on mobility from around the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Dealmaker Media has announced the first group of presenting companies at their upcoming Under the Radar: Mobility event. On November 12th, a one day conference will feature the presentations of 32 vetted mobile startups. The first group is listed below.

Purple Talk, Enables iPhone developers to track the usage of their apps through advanced analytics, and facilitates a free ad exchange program.

Skout, Location-based social network.

Soocial, Works behind the scenes to sync your Mac, mobile and 3rd party apps.

Toro, Near field communication applications.

Vuclip, Mobile video search and delivery.

Expert judges will quiz and challenge the startups selecting their favorites from categories such as iPhone apps, location-based services, gaming, social networking, enabling technologies, and marketing/advertising.

The second annual TechCrunch conference, TechCrunch50, is set to debut 52 startups next week in San Francisco. Along with the startups, TechCrunch has planned an amazing line up speakers from Silicon Valleyand Hollywood. The conference is content rich with the schedule for each of the three days, September 8 -10, running from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM.The schedule for TechCrunch50 has just been released today and the details are availableI attended and covered TechCrunch40 last year and it was an outstanding 1st time conference with interesting companies on stage and in the demo pit. This year will be even bigger and better. The Demo Pit allows companies already launched or who didn’t make the cut for stage appearance during TechCrunch50 to demonstrate their products. A new addition this year is the Exhibit Hall. TechCrunch50 Exhibit Hall will feature 23 early stage companies and will be located in the West Hall of the venue at The San Francisco Design Center Concourse.MobileJones coverage of TechCrunch50 will include a collection of feeds from Twitter, Qik and Flickr by those attending the conference. MobileJones will, also, feature video streaming powered by Mogulus and Qik. If you are attending TechCrunch50 and would like to be added to our feed of feeds, send an email to mojo _at_ mobilejones dot com. The TechCrunch50 site for MobileJones will be launched tomorrow morning and the site plus the streaming video next week are sponsored by Mogulus, Cradlepoint, Qik, Winksite and Windows Mobile.Intersecting with TechCrunch50 is CTIA FAll in San Francisco September 10 – 12. Some of the special events around CTIA are on the schedule for mobilejones. Showstoppers which hosts invitation only events at both CTIA and CES along with MobileFocus produced by Pepcom always offer great demos of the newest devices, applications and technologies.Are you attending CTIA next week? Then check outEric Chan’s CTIA Party List to fill your social calendar.To get ready for the coverage of TechCrunch50 next week check back here tomorrow for the preview of TC50 @ mobilejones.com. The URL will launch at http://tc50.mobilejones.com during the day tomorrow. The link will be live when the site is live.